Modern inventory systems, such as those in distribution warehouses, e-commerce warehouses, and custom-order manufacturing facilities, face significant challenges in responding to requests for inventory items. In particular, inventory systems face challenges in making efficient use of time, space, resources in the face of growing demand and tighter shipping schedules. Those challenges are exacerbated by ever increasing size and throughput requirements of many modern inventories. As a result, the ability to efficiently utilize available equipment and resources while maintaining efficiencies in terms of time and space can be crucial to the success of such inventory systems.